Well. Here we are.

As of May 24, 2010 – “You2Gov.com, You2Gov.org, You2Gov.net” are all now officially part of the History of the evolution of both the Internet and Government 2.0 The site is still up, and you will notice it up and down over next several weeks. It is not an identity crisis. It is not a retreat. It is a next step as one of the leading Gov 2.0 Companies in the United States.

Yes. It is true.

Being one of the pioneering and visionary Government 2.0 Websites in the United States and helping to unleash the Government 2.0 and Citizen 2.0 Movements is hard work. Along with being one of the principal private companies driving the innovative ideas now percolating through Capitols; State and Local, Federal and International, it is time for us to take a pause. It is time to breathe.

We have worked tirelessly to build a citizen engagement platform. The Government loves us. The media loves us. But few people take the time to actually make use of these tools as of right now. After two years of providing cutting edge Government 2.0 capabilities – guess what happened? The Government 2.0 Community is growing. Fast. It is growing on Facebook, it is growing on Twitter, it is coming to a locality near you. But NOT necessarily as a platform. It may involve a real fabric of tools and applications; carefully woven together to increase transparency, open our governments to all of us, and stop organized corruption.

Instead of competing in a bloody red ocean over yet-to-be defined profit points – we have decided to close the platform side of our business while focusing on other areas like further innovation and strategic consulting. Why? There is tremendous competition that is extremely well funded that is now just on the horizon, in those clouds over there. There is also amazing opportunity on the innovation, strategic consulting and multi-media aspects.

You2Gov is not going black.

Just our websites (sometimes) until the next generation of it/them appears. That might seem counter-intuitive. But we are not focusing on this side of the Gov 2.0 equation anymore. We do have our sights focused on some other pieces that many are yet to be talking about. So instead of focusing our efforts on a platform that is now being replicated by many others in different forms, we will be addressing new areas of the Gov 2.0 and Gov 3.0 space.

Sign up on the right over there —– subscribe to this blog, and learn about all of our next moves. Because – there is lots coming down the pike – and sometimes as progress and changes happen, so do unexpected movements. Innovation requires forward thinking and sometimes innovators make moves that are not clearly understood at the time, but reveal themselves as part and parcel of a larger process.

So many incredible participants and speakers; panelists that even though I knew “who was coming” I didn’t know the energy or enthusiasm. It was mind blowing. From the Keynote to the panels, it was a phenomenal display of collaborative group sharing and learning.

At this point we know that over 52,000 Unique Individuals watched the LiveStream on TechZulu and an additional 20,000+ uniques watched on other distribution outlets. Company Founders, Governments from 5 Countries, and from all across the West and East and Central USA. Academics, Non Profits. This is real, and it happened today, and again tomorrow.

One thing we really zeroed in on is a very basic question: What is the Definition of Government 2.0?

Why, you are asking does this matter?

Very simply, the more we can simplify the language we speak about this the quicker we can achieve buy in from the interested parties and constituents. The People.

This is about the merger of Government 2.0 and Citizen 2.0 = People enforcing their ownership of the Government. Not vice-versa.

I heard from many People today about it feeling like a new level of sophistication and industry awareness is emerging. People are starting to count numbers, look at metrics. The success stories are clear, and relevant. But it was pointed out today, that in all the talk about Data, Openness, Transparency, Tools, it is all about the People. Us.

One thing I put out as a major objective of this weekend is to not just define what Government 2.0 really is, what “Gov 2.0″ really is; but to possibly create a language standard that can be applied across Governments, across the “industry.” We are up to this challenge. The incredible outpouring of enthusiasm and excitement for getting past the great unknowns of Government 2.0 and instead; making Gov 2.0 simple, easy and about People that are right here, gathered in Los Angeles. Yes you are here.

You2Gov stands ready to answer questions, or assist your organization in adopting Direct Democracy 3.0 and utilizing it’s power for your members or users.

Please contact us at takeaction@you2gov.com

In support of this release the company is undertaking several Government 2.0 initiatives. You2Gov is planning on hosting an online open Government 2.0 discussion amongst experts, as well as informally advising Government officials in addressing social media needs.

In the future weeks, You2Gov will be making announcements about an International Consortium on Direct Democracy, as well as new client announcements. Keep your eyes on this spot for updates and new information.

#### Press Release ########

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 18 /PRNewswire/ — You2Gov.com announced today it will offer its online advocacy tools, “Direct Democracy 3.0,” to organizations and businesses that want to transform their web sites into interactive communities where members can communicate with each other on a social network platform and contact their elected officials, among other things. The service was launched to help small businesses, non-profit organizations, trade associations and lobbying firms enhance their web sites by incorporating You2Gov’s technology that allows users to contact elected officials in a rapid, secure and private manner, as well as form online communities and stay up to date on relevant issues.

“We just watched the Obama campaign masterfully use the internet to raise record amounts of money, energize supporters, educate the public about the candidate, and get out the vote,” said Alan W. Silberberg, CEO of You2Gov.com. “In ‘Direct Democracy 3.0′, organizations have the same opportunity to use technology to more effectively work with their members and customers. Social networking and online advocacy tools change the entire dynamic for organizations by making advocacy simple and providing an online destination that members want to return to regularly. This is the future of communication and we are excited about partnering with businesses and non-profits to help them create online communities that result in a more engaged and active membership.”

You2Gov’s “Direct Democracy 3.0″ advocacy tools include forums; a bulletin “blog” board for management to communicate with members; a calendar of events that management and members can add to; updated news and videos; a legislation research center that allows users to follow progress of legislation; a comprehensive action center where members can call, email or send letters to elected officials in Congress; and a back-end management program.

By using You2Gov’s technology, organizations can bring their members the same power of “instant communication” as major players in Washington, DC. You2Gov’s technology enables users to email, write, or call their representatives directly from their computer screen or PDA.

You2Gov – http://www.you2gov.com, a pioneering political social network, is one of the fastest growing political websites in America, and is on PC Magazine’s list of Best Political websites for 2008.

You2Gov.com Named One of ‘The Best Political Web Sites’ by PC Magazine As Record Numbers of Americans Surf the Web for Political News and Campaign Information, PC Magazine Recommends You2Gov.com as One of the ‘The 20 Best Political Web Sites’ to Turn to Heading Into the 2008 Presidential Election

DENVER, Aug 28, 2008 http://www.You2Gov.com - a pioneering political social network that gives political power to real people, was named one of “The 20 Best Political Web Sites” by PC Magazine today. PC Magazine set out to help its readers educate themselves on the 2008 candidates for President by pouring over the “countless resources” on the web. In introducing the article, PC Magazine editor Jennifer DeLeo states, “No one has the time to read all of them, of course, so we hunted down the 20 best political Web sites that cover election news, candidate analyses, current national polls, party ads, speeches, and more.” Of the 20 top political sites, You2Gov.com is the only one that offers users a social networking platform to access news and information, form online communities about the issues they care about, and take action by contacting their representatives in Government. The story is currently featured on the home page of pcmag.com: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2329081,00.asp.

“You2Gov.com takes great pride in putting out the best political content for our users,” said Alan W. Silberberg, co-founder and CEO of You2Gov.com. “Our approach is to provide news and information that the average person needs to be a better informed citizen and allow users to chat and mobilize with other like-minded citizens on You2Gov’s social network platform. The political system is all about social networking in the ‘real world’ and in today’s digital era, You2Gov is able to bring the political process directly to the computer screens of Americans, which will allow more citizens to participate in our democracy.” You2Gov’s non-partisan social network platform provides regular Americans current information about issues they care about. It enables them to start their own interest groups with others who share their concerns and to leverage their collective power to influence federal, state and local governments. By providing simple but powerful tools to make their opinions heard, You2Gov.com puts regular people on an equal footing with big business, their lobbyists and other monied interests who have long dominated governments’ actions. For more information go to http://www.You2Gov.com.